Machine for coating elongated articles



Nov. 10, 1959 A. N. HALL MACHINE FOR COATING ELONGATED ARTICLES eats-Sheet 1 ALBERT N. HALL 8 7 7 6 A 7 B 2 1 Infill-II I...- f 8 H 6 9 4.3 3 3 a a 0 8 M G 4 l 2 4 O OOMw W 6H 2.6 O llll 5 l 2 2 If, I, J7 a 3 w 2 I Z N\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\, 6 I I I I f F z. 6 l 5 q 2 o 3 1 2 4 m n m. 2 M 2 6 4 I II I e I III I II S 4 6 I. l .l mm d I m h. H a 4 Nov. 10, 1959 A. N. HALL MACHINE FOR COATING ELONGATED ARTICLES Filed Sept. 21, 1956 FIGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ina- FIG?

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ALBERT N. HALL i zuzw rron an United States Patent Oil-ice 2,911,943 Patented Nov. 10, 1959 MACHINE FOR COATING ELONGATED ARTICLES Albert N. Hall, Cleveland, Tenn.

Application September 21, 1956, Serial No. 611,259 14 Claims. (Cl. 118-425) This invention relates to a machine for coating elongated articles and especially to a machine of this sort for dip painting long rods, broom handles, wood strips and the like.

The proper coating with paint or the like of rods or sticks, such as implement handles, is a difiicult matter since it must be uniform and the operation must be fast. Hand painting is slow and tedious and produces only fair results; while known machine painting apparatus involve long expensive dipping tanks in conjunction with special conveyors and controls and are not at all suitable for small or medium operation.

The present invention generally described, without any sort of limitation on the subsequent disclosure or the claims, consists of a usually vertical frame member supporting a vertically movable carriage thereon and having a continuous belt disposed longitudinally on the frame and driven at all times in one direction. The carriage has a rod grasping or holding mechanism thereon for receiving and retaining a rod placed by hand therein substantially parallel to the frame; and the upper part of the carriage is formed as a drive box device for selectively grasping the belt in a downward direction of movement to move the rod downward a limited distance and with a shifting mechanism to reverse the grasp on the belt for movement back to the original upward position. The drive box comprises a pair of toggle fingers, one adjacent the downward moving belt and the other adjacent the opposite side where the belt is moving upwardly. A latch is provided to hold the carriage in upward neutral position and insertion of the rod actu-ates a shifting rod to unlatch the carriage to begin the cycle. A downwardly positioned pin strikes the fingers to stop downwardly travel while an upwardly spring loaded pin stops the upward travel and puts the device back into neutral.

Beneath the line of travel at the bottom of the machine frame is a specially created paint tank into which the rod is shoved or pushed on the just mentioned downwardly and back to upward position. Various adjustments are provided as well as important details of control and safety.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a machine which will hold a rod, insert the rod properly into a tank of paint, and then extract the rod from the tank with the rod painted and ready for removal.

In conjunction with this object, further feature resides in the arrangement whereby the aforementioned cycle is performed by the machine automatically after insertion of the rod therein.

Another object resides in the sub-assembly, novel paint tank portion having paint control apparatus incorporated therein.

An additional object resides in a carriage device with a shifting box therein having a novel arrangement of shifting drive fingers from engaging one side of a continuous belt to an engagement with the opposite side, thereby shifting from one direction of belt movement to the other (as from the downward side to the upward side).

A genuine advantage of this machine is the ease and inexpensiveness of fabrication and operation, including the very simple maintenance.

Other objects and advantagesof my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of my machine with the paint tank in cross-section and the safety side covers broken away to show the various component parts.

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the machine in Fig. 1 with the top pulley portion and bottom broken away.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the drive control box with the fingers in pre-starting or neutral position.

Fig. 4 is a view like that in Fig. 3 but with the fingers in downward drive position.

Fig. 5 is a view like those in Figs. 3 and 4 but with the fingers shifted to an upward drive position.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation view of the shifting fork bottom of the carriage release mechanism.

Fig. 7 is an elevation view of the outer paint tank.

Fig. 8 is an elevation view of the inner paint tank.

Fig. 9 is a plan View of the stopper ring for the inner paint tank, forming part of the automatic valve.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the control pin for the valve in the paint tank.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation view of the valve control pin of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation view of the assembled valve ring of Fig. 9 and the control pin of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a top plan View ofa rubber strip gasket used on the top of the paint tank.

Fig. 14 is a top plan view of the upper locking plate for the rubber strip in Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of the lower locking plate for the rubber strip in Fig. 13.

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the control drive box taken substantially along lines 15-35 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 17 is a circuit diagram of the motor control.

Referring to the drawings, the machine designated generally at 20 comprises several sub-elements joined together for common operation: the frame and drive belt; the vertically movable carriage including the drive shifting box; the rod or handle holding apparatus on the carriage, and the paint tank apparatus mounted at the bottom of the frame.

Frame and drive The frame 22 consists of a single, square standard or post 24 fixedly and rigidly mounted on a large, heavy base plate 26 which rests flat and firmly on the floor or ground 23. At the very top of frame post 24 on stub shaft is a drive pulley 28 and at the very bottom thereof on stub shaft 27 is another drive pulley 30 and both drive pulleys have a continuous drive belt 32 fastened therewith for continuous movement thereabout. Mounted on base plate 26 is an electric motor 34 having in combination with it a rigidly mounted gear. reduction unit 36 with a drive pulley 38 drivably connected by belt with a pulley (not shown) keyed on the shaft 27 behind pulley 30. With motor 34 and gear unit 36 turned on, the pulley 38 continuously drives the shaft 27 thereby driving belt 32 around pulleys 28, 30. Motor 34 is connected through a foot switch 39 directly to a current source by wire. For the matter of safety, the front of frame 22 is normally substantially covered by a pair of cover plates 42. Frame 22 on post 24 supports a vertically movable carriage 44. a

The carriage 2,911,943 I v m rigidly supported thereon in front of the machine a drive box in which are mounted on pins 52, 54 a pair of toggle fingers 56, 58 with the respective ends thereof adjacent and capable of moving against a respective side of the belt 32 which runs through opposite sides of box 50. Selectively, one or the other of fingers 56, 58 moves into engagement with the respective belt portion 32 against a clamp end of box 50 to clamp onto the belt and to either take the carriage 44 down with the belt or bring it back up. The exact operation of these fingers 56, 58 is described in detail further on with respect to Figs. 3 through 5.

On the front 60 of box 50 is a movable shifting block 62 having rigidly therein a pair of vertically spaced control or stop pins 64, 66 which protrude into the inside of box 50 as part of the control of the fingers 56, 58. Block 62 is shifted by a shifting rod 68 mounted on a pin 70 supported on a depending front support member 72 which is rigidly fixed onto the bottom of the box 50. The bottom of support member 72 has thereon a transverse plate 74 spaced some distance below the box 50 and having a knifeplate 76 at the front thereof on which is an adjustable knife 78 fastened by screws 80. The front edge 82 of knife 78 is for engagement with a rod placed thereagainst.

Spaced transversely along plate 74 from knife edge 82 is a movable clamping tongue 84 rotatable on a pin 86 mounted on plate 74 and spring pressed by coil spring 88. A long pin 90 is welded or otherwise fixed on tongue 84 i of the carriage reaching its bottom travel and cushions to extend outwardly to one side thereof, to be engaged as described below. The bottom of shifting rod 68 bends to form a contact arm 92 extending from behind plate 74 to in front thereof between the knife 78 and the tongue 84. Shifting rod 68 is Spring pressed to the back of plate 74 by spring 93 (see Fig. 6), thereby resisting movement.

' at the bottom of the stroke, finger 56 is locked out of belt An inward push toward the post 24 moves shifting rod about its pin 70 thereby dis-engaging pin 60. Spaced above and in alignment with tongue 84 and knife 78 is a stop and alignment plate member 94 mounted rigidly on a rod 96 threadedly engaging one of a plurality of holes 98 vertically aligned in spaced relation on member 72. The distance between plate 94 and the knife 78 may be adjusted in either direction by means of the holes 98.

Actuating pins Near the top pulley 28 fixed to post 24 is a plate 100 on which is fastened a channel member 102 carrying for movement through the channels thereof an upper actuating pin 104 spring mounted by spring 106 and limited in travel by its own stop lugs 108, 110. Pin 104 is aligned to protrude into the open face of box 50 when the box is in upward position which is its normal neutral position. In this upward position, pin 104 bears against the top of finger 58 tending to push said finger downwardly out of the box. On the other side of plate 100 is a fixed latch member 112 in the form of a notched head 113. Also extending fixedly from plate 100 is a long member 114 bending downwardly forward of the machine and carrying at the bottom thereof in a slot 115 a bolt and nut 117 with the bolt extending somewhat outwardly to engage the pin 90 when the carriage 44 is locked in up position. Normally the pin 66 extends through the box 50 and into the head 113 thereby retaining the box 50 and entire carriage 44 in an upwardly position at the top of the post 24. According to this arrangement, pin 104 protrudes into box 50 with the box and carriage 44 locked in upwardly position on latch 112.

Near the bottom pulley 30 fixed to post 24 is a clamp assembly 116 supporting a protruding plate 118 fixed thereto and on which is an upwardly extending lower actuating pin 119 in combination with a spring 120 and collar 122 forming a snubber or shock absorber. Pin 119 and collar 122 are aligned to protrude into the open face of box 50 to bear against finger 56 and to push same upwardly by the outer end thereof thereby dis-engaging same from the belt 32 at the desired downwardly travel of the carriage 44. At the same time the spring 120 absorbs the shock the start of the upward travel.

Fingers56, 58

The fingers 56, 58 are fixed on and confined in the box 50 by means of a respective through pin 52, 54. Referring to Figs. 3 through 5, belt 32 comes down the left side in box 50 moving downwardly (if rotating continuously counter-clockwise on pulleys 28, 30) and goes through the right side moving upwardly. Referring to Figs. 3 through 5, pins 56, 58 are movably joined at their internal ends 124, 126 by an inner tongue 127 on finger 56 fitting into a bifurcated end 126 of finger 58 and retained therein by a pin 128 in an elongated slot 130 in tongue 127. With this arrangement, either finger 56, 58 can change position about its respective pin 52, 54 and the end of finger 56 has to travel downwardly to engage and clamp belt 32 in box 50 while finger 58 end has to travel upwardly to engage and clamp the belt 32.

Normally in the upward, carriage 44 locked neutral position, finger 56 is held away by pin 64 and the carriage 44 is held upwardly by pin 66 through box 50 into the notched bottom 113 of latch 112 (see Fig. 16). The

1 same outward movement of block 62 removes both of the pins 64, 66 from latching positions.

In the neutral, up position spring pressed rod 104 bears against finger 58 tending to push it down which by toggle action with finger 56 would push it into belt 32 and which 4 is what happens when the pin 64 is pulled from under the finger 56, simultaneously with the pulling of pin 66 from latch 112 permitting the carriage 44 to drop and be driven by the belt 32. This down-moving position of the fingers is shown in Fig. 4. Upon striking pin 119 and collar 122 32 engaging position to that in Fig. 5 where finger 58 grabs the belt 32 which on that side is moving upwardly. A fixed limit pin 132 limits the upward movement of pin 58. Box 50 then travels with belt 32 back to the top or neutral position at which position pin 66 slides back into forward position through the box 50 into the latch 112.

For sake of further clarity, it is stated that pins 52 and 54 are fixed with a respective finger 56, 58 to and through the box 50 while pin 128 only connects the fingers 56, 58

. put into the ground or below the floor level.

together and not through the box; and pin 132 is fixed through the box 50 while pins 64, 66 are movable through the box 50. Pins 64, 66 remain at all times spring pressed toward insertion by spring 93.

The paint tank tion of the bottom of tank 146 is removed for cooperation with a paint valve assembly 152 consisting of a heavy circular washer 154 in a center hole 155 at which is loosely fitted a valve shaft 156 with a cut-off disc seat 158 fixed thereto. As is seen in Fig. 1, washer 154 is fitted tightly into the open bore of tank 146 adjacent the bottom opening 150 and the shaft 156 rides inside washer 154 with seat 158 closing ofi? the center hole in washer. Suction pulling from the top of tank 146 will lift seat 158 with shaft 156 thereby opening the hole 155 to the bottom entrance 150.

Flanges 144 are normally bolted to the machine plate 26 by bolts 160 and the top of tank 142 is closed by means of a gasketing arrangement consisting of a bottom plate 162 with a slightly protruding center annular, open flange 164 therein, a rubber gasket 166 with a plurality of spaced holes 168 therein, and a top cap plate 170. The gasket 166' is pressed over the open flange 164 by plate 170 with one of holes 168 in alignment with the top of center tank 146. The longitudinal axis of gasket 166 lies transverse to those of the plates 162, 170 and is readily shiftable when the plates 162, 170 are loosened from one hole 168 to another hole 168 so that when one wears out another is very easily substituted, thereby maintaining a tight fit around the article being dipped in the tank 140.

In the operation of the paint tank, outer tank 142 is filled, preferably with a high grade lacquer 172, nearly full and initially the inner tank 146 is also filled and the plates 162, 170 bolted by bolts 174 in place on the machine. As a rod 176 is inserted through one of the fitting holes 168 down into inner tank 146 it is coated with paint 172 on the downward and upward stroke and as it is pulled through the tight hole 168 in the resilient gasket 166 the excess paint is squeezed off and the suction of the pulling from the hole opens valve 152 by lifting shaft 156 to permit paint from the outer tank 142 to flow into the inner tank. This maintains the level of theinner tank 146 full even when the outer tank 142 is getting low in level. Of course, with the rod 176 removed the weight of the paint 172 in the inner tank 146 pushes the seat 158 closed.

Machine operation I The general operation of the machine has been made apparent from the foregoing outline; however, the sequence is now discussed without details of individual elements. Normally motor 36 remains running and belt 32 continuously rotates counter-clockwise and carriage 50 is latched in place at the top on latch 112. To paint a rod 176, the operator by hand 178 inserts the rod firmly between knife 82 and tongue 84 with the top end of the rod 176 under and abutting the plate 94. This automatically presses against the contact arm 92 which shifts the rod 68 thereby slidingpins 64, 66 outv of position to start finger 56 engagement with belt 32 as discussed in detail. supra. Rod 176 is thereby pushed forceably by carriage 50 from belt 32 into the tank ,146 to the selected limit; finger 58 is then shifted into engagement when pin 119 strikes finger 56; the belt pulls the carriage 50 back to top position striking pin 104 and pins 66 and 64 having reached alignment with their holes are again in engagement. On retum,bolt 117 hits rod 90 thereby opening tongue 80 which readily releases the rod 176. Shifting rod 68 moves block 62 easily into place whenpins 66,

64 are in alignment because of the spring 93. When fingers 56, 58 touch belt 32 the movement of the belt grabs the finger ends for complete drive engagement.

Although I have shown and described in detail of both construction and operation one preferred embodiment of my invention, this is not to be considered in any way as a limitation on the coverage of my invention since various changes, alterations, substitutions,eliminations, variations, reversals, and other modfications may be made in the disclosed form without departing from the scope of my invention, reference being made here to the appended claims and the proper interpretations thereof.

-I claim: I I

1. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame having length to accommodate an elongated article placed thereon, selective retaining means for holding an elongated article placed thereon and being movable with said article, continuous drive means on said frame for moving said article in a forward and reverse direction thereon in one continuous cycle, coating means associated with said frame having a coating material therewith for application to said rod during the forward movement thereof, drive engagement means selectively associating said retaining means with said continuous member for travel in a forward and automatically then reverse direction wherewith for moving said rod into and then out of said coating material, and control means for operating said drive means in a forward direction and automatically operable to reverse same, whereby said rod is moved into and coated by said coating material and then removed therefrom, thereby giving said article a coat of material.

2. In a machine for coatingan elongated article such as in paintingan implement handle, a machine frame having length to accommodate an elongated article placed thereon, selective retaining means for holding an elongated article placed thereon and being movable with said article, continuous drive means on said frame for moving said article in a forward and reverse direction thereon in one continuous cycle, coating means associated with said frame having a coating material therewith for application to said rod during at least the fonward movement thereof, drive engagement means on said-frame drivably operable selectively between said retaining means and said continuous drive means, forward drive engagement means on said drive means for engaging said continuous drive means for a forward stroke, reverse drive engagement means on said drive means automatically operable upon the limit of forward drive for engaging said continuous means for a reverse stroke, actuating means for actuating said forward and reverse drive engagement means selectively to drive and automatically reverse said rod, and control means for operating said actuating means, whereby a rod retained on said retaining means may be driven into said coating material and removed therefrom by power from said drive means.

3. In a machine for-coating elongated articles such as in painting an implement handle, a'machine frame having length to accommodate an elongated article placed thereon, a carriage mounted on said machine frame,'-a frame member supporting said carriage for movement thereon in an'elongated direction, a selectively openable retaining means mounted on said carriage to receive an elongated article placed therein and to temporarily retain same on said carriage, a continuous member disposed in an elongated direction on said frame for normally uninterrupted movement thereon, a power drive means for said continuous member, a coating means associated in alignment with said frame and having a coating material therewith for application to an article brought into contact therewith, one portion of said continuous member adjacent said carriage moving in a forward article drive direction on said frame and another portion of said continuous member moving in a reverse thereof, a selective drive means mounted on said carriage and including forward and re verse drive members'which are selectively engageable with a respective forward and reverse drive portion of 'said continuous member, and actuating means actuatable upon insertion of said article to bring said forward drive, memher into engagement'with said forward continuous member portion thereby driving said article into said coating material, a reverse control means actuatable upon said article reaching selected forward limit to shift from said forward drive to said reverse drive, whereupon said article is removed from said material, and other control means actuatable to terminate said reverse drive and thereby return said machine to normal.

4. In a machine of the class described for coating elongated articles such as implement handles, an elongated machine frame for accommodating a long article to be coated with paint or other material, a movable article retaining means mounted onsaid carriage for moving said article in a forward coating direction and a reverse direction, frame means supporting said retaining means for movement thereon, selectively releasable gripping means on said retaining means for firmly gripping said article, a drive means on said frame having forward and reverse motion, a drive engagement means on said article retaining means having selective forward and reverse drive engagement means for selective operation with said forward and reverse drive motion of said drive member, an actuating means positioned on said frame and actuatable upori positioning of said article to start said forward drive and movement thereby bringing said article into contact with said coating material, second control means on said frame operable on said retaining means substantially reaching its selected forward travel to shift to said reverse drive thereby reversing direction to return said retaining means to normal, and control means for halting said retaining means in normal initial position for receiving another article to be coated and thereby coating articles in sequence.

5. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article, a movable carriage mounted on said frame and having article receiving and retaining means thereon, said receiving and retaining means holding said article in elongated disposal, a continuous drive member mounted on said frame with ,one forward direction portion thereof moving adjacent one portion of said carriage and another reverse portion theerof moving adjacent another portion of said carriage, coating means in alignment with said frame to receive articles therein, a pair of drive members mounted in association with said drive member on said carriage, one of said members being a forward drive member and the other thereof being a reverse drive member, means mounting said members for movement on said carriage for co-action selectively with said continuous member, actuating means operable upon positioning of an article to cause said forward drive member to become drivably engaged with said forward portion of said continuous member, thereby driving said article into said coating means, first control means operable upon said carriage and article therein reaching substantially complete forward direction to shift drive from said forward to said reverse drive member in engagement with said reverse portion of said continuous member, thereby removing said article from said coating means, second control means operable upon said carriage and article reaching substantially initial position to dis-engage said reverse driving and permit said carriage to return and remain at rest at initial position, whereby said article has been coated during said movement and may be removed from said machine for the insertion of another thereof.

6. In a drive mechanism for use with a coating machine and the like wherein a continuous member moves with a forward and a reverse portion of said member adjacent said drive mechanism, a base member, a forward finger member and a reverse finger member movably connected on said base and with each other with the forward finger located for engagement with said forward continuous portion and said reverse finger for engagement with said reverse continuous portion, pivot means on said base for each of said finger members, and stop means limiting the movement of said fingers, said reverse finger being actuatable to move the other into engagement with said continuous member and said for ward finger being in turn operably by force thereon to become disengaged and to move said reverse finger into engagement, whereby said forward or reverse drive is attained by one finger shifting the other into drive engagement.

7. In a coating mechanism into which is inserted an elongated member such as an implement handle for coating, an outer elongated tank with an openable top adapted to receive coating material therethrough and to retain same therein, an inner elongated tank positionable within said outer tank and having an open top thereon, a removable, flexible seal' covering the top of said inner tank and substantially sealing same, said seal having a flexible opening therein through which an article may be inserted with a tight fit, a coating material entrance adjacent the bottom of said inner tank through which the coating material may pass from said outer tank, a means closing said inner tank from discharge back into said outer tank, and means associated with said last named means responsive to the movement of said article in said flexible opening to open said last named means to supply coating material to said inner tank.

8. The tank of claim 7 wherein said means responsive to the movement of the article is a valve element movable by the change in pressure from the article moving through the flexible opening to create an opening temporarily through which said coating material may pass, and said element becoming closed upon said coating material entering said inner tank, thereby maintaining said inner tank at a high level regardless of how low the outer tank may be.

9. The tank of claim 8 wherein said valve element is a member seated in and normally closing an opening, and being liftable from its seat therein by the suction of said article being pulled through said flexible opening from said inner tank.

10. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article disposed for movement thereon, a movable carriage mounted'on said frame and having article receiving and retaining means thereon, said receiving and retaining means being arranged to selectively hold for movement an article placed on said machine to be coated, a coating means on said machine adapted to receive and coat an article, forward and reverse drive means on said frame in operable association with said carriage to selectively drive same in a forwardly or reverse direction, power means on said machine for operating said forward and reverse drive means, an actuating member automatically operable by the placement of an article on said frame to start said forward drive thereby moving said carriage with article thereon into said coating means, a control means automatically actuatable by the forward travel of said carriage to discontinue said forward drive at the selected forward stroke of said article in said coating means and to operate said reverse drive thereby returning said carriage to original position, and other control means automatically operable upon said carriage reaching initial position to discontinue reverse drive and to permit said carriage to reach and remain at initial position for removal of said coated article and the insertion of another therein thereby starting said cycle again, thereby automatically inserting and removing an article for coating in a coating means therewith.

11. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article disposed for movement thereon, a movable carriage mounted on said frame and having article receiving and retaining means thereon, said receiving and retaining means being arranged to selectively hold for movement an article placed on said machine to be coated, power means associated with said frame, a continuous drive member mounted on said frame drivable by said power means with a forward direction portion thereof accessible to said carriage and with a reverse direction portion thereof also accessible to said carriage, coating means in alignment with said frame to receive an article entered therein for depositing a coating material on the article, forward engagement means on said carriage engageable with said forward portion of said continuous member to connect said carriage for forward movement therewith, selective control means on said machine for actuating said forward engagement means, a reverse engagement means on said carriage engageable with said reverse portion of said continuous member to connect said carriage for reverse movement therewith after discontinuance of said forward drive, second control means on said machine for activating and actuating said reverse engagement means, said forward engagement means becoming dis-engaged upon activation of said reverse engagement means, and third control means on said machine for dis-engaging said reverse engagement means upon said carriage reaching initial, still position, whereby an article placed on said machine is transported into said coating means and out therefrom by virtue of which it receives a coating material thereon.

12. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article normally positioned coextensively with said space, an article receiving carriage normally positioned adjacent one end of said space for movement substantially coextensively with said space, a coating tank positioned normally at the other end of said frame space and having an opening formed therein into which may be inserted an article for coating, a coating material within said tank, means retaining said carriage in normal initial position at one end of said frame, forward and reverse drive means on said frame selectively engageable to drive said carriage toward the coating tank and back again, an article holding means on said carriage operable to hold an article placed therein, a forward drive actuating member associated with said article holding means and actuatable by said article being positioned therein to release said carriage from its carriage retaining means and substantially simultaneously therewith to actuate said forward drive, a drive shifting means positioned on said frame and operably arranged to shift said drive from forward to reverse, a first control means automatically operated upon said carriage and said article reaching selected forward position to shift from forward to reverse thereby reversing the direction of said carriage, and second con trol means automatically operated upon said carriage and said article reaching substantial initial return position to shift from reverse to non-driving position thereby permitting said carriage to stop at initial position, whereby said article is driven into said coating tank to receive a coat of material thereon and is driven from same to initial position for removal and positioning of another article and thereafter coating a series of articles in this manner.

13. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article, a movable carriage mounted on said frame and having article receiving and retaining means thereon, said receiving and retaining means holding said article in elongated disposal, power means associated with said frame, a continuous drive member mounted on said frame drivable by the power means with one forward direction portion thereof moving under action from said power means adjacent one portion of said carriage and another reverse portion thereof moving adjacent another portion of said carriage, coating means in alignment with said frame to receive an article entered therein for depositing a coating material on the article, guide means for said continuous member adjacent each of said forward and reverse portions, drive fingers mounted for movement adjacent said guide means and there being a forward drive finger and a reverse drive finger for respective engagement with said forward and reverse continuous member portions, said fingers acting in conjunction with said respective guide means to selectively engage said continuous member to become respectively drivably associated therewith, said fingers in normal non-driving position being away from said moving continuous member, means for moving said forward finger into engagement, actuating means operable upon positioning of an article on said carriage to actuate said last named means thereby engaging said forward finger on said continuous member, first control means operable upon said carriage and article reaching pre-selected forward limit of movement to shift said forward finger out of engagement and to shift said reverse finger into engagement thereby bringing said reverse finger into drivable engagement with said reverse portion of said belt, and second control means operable upon said carriage reaching substantial initial, normal position to disengage said reverse finger placing said fingers in non-driving position with said continuous member moving free, said fingers being maintained in normal nondriving position until an article is inserted for coating.

14. In a machine for coating an elongated article such as in painting an implement handle, a machine frame with elongated space to accommodate an elongated article, a carriage frame member normally vertically disposed substantially coextensive with said elongated space, a carriage mounted on said frame member for movement in an elongated direction thereon, an article holding device on said carriage having an openable portion therewith for insertion of and removable of articles, said carriage normally being retained adjacent the upward end of said frame member, a carriage retaining member on said frame engaging and retaining said carriage in upward position, a continuous member on said frame normally driven continuously with an upwardly moving portion thereof substantially coextensive with said elongated frame member and a downwardly moving portion substantially coextensive with said upwardly moving portion and spaced therefrom, a drive mechanism mounted on said carriage having a bearing member adjacent said upwardly moving portion and a bearing member adjacent said downwardly moving portion, a pair of actuating fingers mounted on said drive member and there being an upward drive finger and a downward drive finger respectively adjacent said upwardly moving portion and bearing member and said downwardly moving position and its bearing member, pivot means connecting said fingers together for simultaneous operation, pivot means on each of said fingers and said drive mechanism, one of said fingers moving against said continuous member when the other moves away and vice versa, a spring member urging said downward finger into engagement with said downward continuous portion, a pin holding said downward finger out of engagement, shifting means connected with said downward finger and said carriage retaining member for simultaneous release of both, first actuating member adjacent the bottom of said frame for contacting said downwardly finger to shift same out of engagement and to thereby shift said upward finger into engagement with said continuous member, said spring member contacting said downward finger to shift same out of drive engagement thereby releasing said carriage to normal position, and other means urging said carriage retaining member into engagement upon return of said carriage and contacting of said spring member with said downward finger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 138,767 Shepard May 13, 1873 305,442 Everson Sept. 23, 1884 1,346,726 Thompson July 13, 1920 2,563,514 Brosamer Aug. 7, 1951 

